Dream Orchard
by Kalow
Summary: Momo Hinamori and Toushiro Hitsugaya are migrant workers attempting to earn enough money to buy their own piece of land and live out their dream. Loosely based on 'Of Mice and Men'.
1. Chapter 1

Story: Dream Orchard

Characters: Momo Hinamori, Toushiro Hitsugaya

Genre: Drama, Friendship

Summary: Momo Hinamori and Toushiro Hitsugaya are migrant workers attempting to earn enough money to buy their own piece of land and live out their dream.

A/N: This story is loosely based on 'Of Mice and Men'. It won't be entirely consistent with the book, but it has the same general idea.

I do not own Bleach

* * *

**Dream Orchard**

_Chapter One_

"Momo, wait up!"

"What? You're the one who is walking so slowly Toushiro!"

"No I'm not! You walk too fast!"

"Well if you weren't so short we wouldn't have this problem!"

Momo Hinamori and Toushiro Hitsugaya walked along the side of a dirt road, heading for their next place of employment. Momo and Toushiro had once lived in the nation of Rukongai. They grew up as next door neighbors and were best friends. Thus it was only natural that they worked together when they grew up. Unfortunately, a horrible drought destroyed the hard earned crops of Rukongai, and they were forced to flee in favor of Seireitei.

Seireitei was a much wealthier neighbor of Rukongai, and to the simple grain-farming inhabitants of Rukongai, the advertisements of lush green lands full of work opportunities at fruit orchards and vineyards seemed too good to be true. Unfortunately for them, it was. Seireitei certainly was nice and green with streams and no drought, but it was not the paradise it had been advertised as. The rich lived in big cities, from where they coordinated all of their banking, shipping, and agriculture businesses from the comfort of offices. Meanwhile, the laborers were toiling to produce the goods demanded by the upper class, often making barely enough money to survive on.

Nevertheless, Momo and Toushiro kept working, knowing they had no other choice. If they wanted to survive, they would need to work. But there was one bright area of this in that they had eachother and were not alone like most other workers. Toushiro actively protected Momo. Momo was an intelligent girl, but that was not really obvious to the casual observer, as she was often carefree and overly innocent, resulting in people questioning her mental competence. On top of that, she had occasional neurotic tendencies, usually when something unexpected happened or when reacting to something that brings about strong emotion in her. When this happened, she would become prone to bouts of anxiety and, in some cases, lashing out at whatever was troubling her. Toushiro protected her, calming her when this happened and ensuring she would not get in trouble with the law.

Momo and Toushiro walked along the dirt road until it was dark before stopping and making camp along a nearby river. They started a small fire and Toushiro took a can of beans from his bag.

"Oh boy! Beans!" Momo said happily. Toushiro rolled his eyes.

"Just don't eat all of them this time, okay Momo?" Toushiro said. Momo blushed and giggled.

"Hey, I don't always eat them all!" Momo said in mock indignity.

"No but you usually do," Toushiro said. Momo crossed her arms and pouted.

"Aw, that's not very nice Shiro," she said. Toushiro growled under his breath.

"For the last time, don't call me Shiro," he said irritably. That nickname was a curse, both because of the stupidity of it and the indignation that a part of him really liked it when she called him that.

"I'll call you whatever I like, SHIRO," she said, making sure to say his nickname with extra emphasis. Toushiro rolled his eyes and divided the beans between them. Toushiro had barely begun his when Momo had gobbled hers up.

"Mmmm, those were good beans! Can I have some of yours Shiro?" she asked.

"No, you had your share and I have mine. And don't call me Shiro."

"Aw, come on! I'm still hungry! What if I collapse from starvation?" Momo said.

"Hopefully you'll stop calling me Shiro," Toushiro grumbled. Momo pouted.

"That's not very nice of you. I think I'll have to punish you," she said. Momo tackled him and began tickling him, forcing him into submission.

"Momo stop it!" Toushiro said among his tickled laughs.

"Just a minute Shiro!" Momo said. After a minute more, she stopped. "Okay, I'm done."

Toushiro turned back to his beans only to find that they had all been eaten up. He turned to look at Momo, who merely smiled at him.

"Momo, what am I going to do with you?" he said exhaustedly. Momo giggled.

"I think we should go to bed soon so that tomorrow we'll have lots of energy," Momo said, changing the subject. Toushiro sighed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" He unfurled the large, tattered sleeping bag that they used and placed it on the ground. He put out the fire while Momo made herself comfortable in the sleeping bag. After he was done, Toushiro got into the sleeping bag as well.

Momo quickly latched onto him in a big hug. She had told him in the past that hugging him while she went to sleep eased her fears and anxieties. Toushiro was somewhat indignant at being treated like a teddy bear, but he wanted to help Momo in any way that he could. Besides, he sort of liked being hugged like this by Momo.

"Toushiro, tell me our story," Momo whispered to him as they fell asleep.

"Again? I've told you it a hundred times already!" Toushiro said. Momo giggled into his shoulder as she hugged him.

"I know, but it makes such a great bedtime story, plus it's all gonna happen someday, so that makes it extra good!" she said. Toushiro sighed and began to tell her their story.

"Okay, most migrant workers are alone, but we're different. We have eachother. Someday after a lot of work we'll take the money we've earned and by our own piece of land. We'll grow apples and blueberries and of course, lots of yummy peaches," Toushiro said. Momo smiled.

"Tell me the part about the cuddly animals Shiro," she said.

"I'm getting there. We're going to work on that farm together, and when we get home we'll be kept company by a big funny dog that we'll play fetch with, some nice soft cats that will nuzzle up against us, and some fluffy little bunnies that you can cuddle all you like."

Soon, Momo was fast asleep, a smile on her lips. Toushiro smiled too as he thought of their dream, soon falling asleep himself.

* * *

Thanks for reading everyone! Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Bleach

**Dream Orchard**

_Chapter Two_

"Hurry up Momo, we're gonna be late!"

"Aww, come on! Just five more minutes!"

"You've been saying that for twenty minutes, now get out!"

Toushiro stood on the bank of a stream, where Momo was currently swimming. They had to get going or they wouldn't make it to their latest job on time. Momo grumbled as she got out of the stream. Toushiro sighed as he saw that Momo was wearing her full clothes.

"Momo, how many times do I have to tell you to take off some of your clothes before you go swimming?" he asked her.

"Hey, don't you be trying to get a peek at me pervert!" Momo said, playfully hitting him.

"I meant that if you wear all of your clothes in there, you're going to catch a cold," Toushiro explained, "Here, let me dry you off."

Toushiro took out a small towel and began drying Momo off. Momo giggled when he began drying her sides, inadvertently tickling her. Suddenly she tackled him and began tickling him back. He was laughing so hard he couldn't even tell her to stop. He tickled her back in retaliation, causing her to shriek in laughter. Toushiro hoped that nobody saw them engaging in this childish game. The bank was down a small hill from the road and there were numerous reeds covering them up and keeping them out of sight, but he still worried that somebody would see them playing this embarrassing game.

Finally he was able to free himself from Momo's tickle-grip and stand up.

"Okay Momo, we really need to get going now. If we're late, we might not get the job, and then we won't be able to get the money we need to buy that orchard of ours. This got an immediate response, perhaps too much so.

"Oh my gosh! In that case we'll have to hurry! Come on, let's go!" she said, grabbing Toushiro by the arm and dragging him behind her as she ran up the side of the hill and down the road. Toushiro struggled to keep up with the taller girl.

"Momo wait up! We're not in that much of a rush!" Toushiro managed to say before his arm was torn off. Momo slowed down.

"Oh, sorry about that," she said sweetly.

"That's okay Momo. A brisk walk should be plenty fast enough for us," Toushiro said.

"Okie-dokie!" Momo said cheerfully. They both began walking at a brisk pace. Unfortunately, Toushiro had to run to keep up with Momo's brisk walk, as she was taller than him.

"Okay, new strategy," Toushiro panted as he struggled to keep up with her, "You walk normally and I'll walk briskly."

--

Finally, they reached the place. It was a two-story farmhouse with a building next to it that served as the office to the place. There were lines of fruit trees all around the place, stretching quite far into the distance. The owner evidently was quite well off to own so much productive land.

Before they went into the office, Toushiro put his hand on Momo's shoulder and turned her to face him.

"Momo, I think it would be best if I did all of the talking," he said.

"Why? I can talk too!" Momo said indignantly.

"Well…sometimes you speak without thinking it through first, and that could get you into trouble," Toushiro said, "Also, sometimes you give people the impression that you're a little bit…off."

"What do you mean?" Momo said.

"Look, just please let me do all of the talking. I'll answer questions for you. I'm only doing this so I can protect you," Toushiro said. Momo crossed her arms.

"Fine, whatever meanie-pants," she said. Toushiro could not help but smile at Momo's childish name-calling.

"If you behave I'll let you tend the rabbits when we buy our land," Toushiro said. Momo instantly perked up and nodded.

"I'll behave!" she said. Toushiro smiled and nodded, turning to the door.

Toushiro knocked three times on the door. There was silence for a minute, and Toushiro was about to knock again when the door opened, revealing an old man with a very long beard.

"You're late," he said, not necessarily in an accusatory manner, but more as a statement.

"Yes, I'm sorry about that. We ran into unexpected difficulties," Toushiro explained. The old man nodded and went back behind his desk, gesturing Momo and Toushiro to take a seat in the chairs in front of the desk.

"I am Yamamoto. I am the owner of the orchards here," he said, "I understand that you two wish to work here."

"That is correct sir," Toushiro said.

"I must question your ability to properly conduct the harvest though," Yamamoto said, "We normally do not hire women, and your short stature would seem to limit your abilities. I can't guarantee that I'll hire you; it's not good business to hire somebody unfit to work."

"Sir, I assure you that we are indeed very fit to work here. Just give us a chance. We may not seem like much, but we both are excellent fruit-pickers. Momo here is able to climb up the trees and pick the fruit without a ladder. She's just like a monkey when she's in a tree," Toushiro said. Momo giggled at this.

"Just like a monkey!" She giggled. A glare from Toushiro made her stop however. Yamamoto saw this.

"She doesn't seem quite right in the head. You're not doing some sort of scam or taking advantage of her or something are you?" Yamamoto asked, somewhat concerned by what he saw.

"No sir, Momo is perfectly competent mentally. She has a few eccentricities, but she's of normal intelligence, probably above normal," Toushiro said. Momo held her head up high and smiled at this.

"I don't know, most workers travel alone, not together. The times I've seen workers traveling together have mainly been the times people take advantage of those with mental deficiencies so as to double their pay. I need to make sure you're not one of them," Yamamoto said.

"Momo is not mentally deficient, and even if she was I would never take advantage of her. We grew up together and have always been best friends. She's like a little sister to me." Momo suddenly kicked him in the shin. "Okay, she's like a _big_ sister to me." Momo smiled in triumph.

Yamamoto looked on with amusement.

"Very well, I'll give you two a chance," he said, "Move your things to Worker Sleeping Quarters 1B and get to work. I want you two be harvesting fruit by noon. You'll be working with the peaches."

"Thank you sir," Toushiro said.

"Thank you," Momo said, breaking her silence.

--

Momo and Toushiro unloaded their things onto a bed. They didn't have much, so it didn't take them long. The small wooden shack that served as Worker Sleeping Quarters 1B had five beds tightly packed into the room. It was dimly lit, and wasn't a particularly pleasant place, but at least they would have mattresses to sleep on instead of the ground.

As they were about to leave the shack, Toushiro pulled Momo aside.

"Momo, I want you to be extra careful this time," he said, "We can't have anymore mishaps like before."

"I didn't mean to, it just happened," Momo said.

"I know you didn't mean for it to happen, but it did. You need to learn to be more careful not to put yourself into situations like that and to learn how to control yourself when you are. That last time was a close call."

Flashback

_Momo and Toushiro had just earned their first pay at their latest job. Momo wanted to celebrate at the local bar, and while Toushiro was deadset against it, he ended up going so that he could keep an eye on Momo._

_When they got there, there were already a good number of people, many of them fellow migrant workers. Toushiro didn't really like the place, but Momo seemed to enjoy the festive atmosphere, so he tolerated it. After a while, Toushiro needed to use the bathroom and excused himself._

_While he was in the bathroom, Momo occupied herself by making a smiley face out of peanuts. Just as she finished putting the nose on the happy smiley face, a big oaf came up to her._

"_Hey baby, how's it going?" he asked._

"_I'm good," Momo said absentmindedly, "How are you?"_

"_I'm great, but I'd be even greater if you and me took a little break behind this place if you know what I mean," he said._

"_No, I can't say that I do," Momo said innocently, "Besides, I promised that I would stay right here."_

"_Aw come on. A hot girl like you can have a lot more fun than just hanging out at a bar, and I can show you how," he said. He picked up one of the peanuts from Momo's smiley face and was about to bite the shell off when Momo tackled him to the ground._

_The bar went silent and people crowded around to see what was happening as Momo repeatedly slammed the man's face into the ground. His face was bloody and he was too shocked to move._

"_Give it back!" Momo yelled._

"_What?" The man asked in terror. He didn't realize the correlation between Momo's outburst and his taking the peanut. Momo grabbed his arm, the hand of which was frozen in place around the peanut, and began twisting it behind his back._

"_Stop it, that hurts!" he cried. Momo pulled the arm further._

"_Unhand the peanut or the arm comes off!" she yelled._

_Just then, Toushiro came rushing over, grabbing Momo and running out. The sheriff arrived mere moments later._

"You have to be more careful not to get into those situations," Toushiro said.

"I didn't mean to," Momo said.

"I know Momo, but please try. We really need this job, so try not to let anything go wrong," Toushiro said. Momo was silent for a moment.

"You'd have an easier life without me wouldn't you," she said. Toushiro was shocked by the sad tone in her voice.

"Momo, I didn't mean it like that," Toushiro said.

"Should I just go off on my own? Then I won't trouble you anymore," she said.

"Momo, don't talk like that. I could never abandon you or let you go off on your own. It's one of the key elements of our story, we're together! That's what sets us apart from the other workers, it's that sense of togetherness we have! Momo, I forgive any mistakes you made in the past, I just want to avoid more," Toushiro said. Momo smiled at him.

"Thanks Shiro," she said.

"No problem Momo, but if something does happen, I want you to go to that place where you went swimming earlier and hide in the reeds. Do you remember where that place is," Toushiro asked. Momo nodded. "Go hide in those reeds and stay there until I can help you, okay?"

"Okay!" Momo said cheerfully. Toushiro smiled at her upbeat attitude.

"That's good, now come on, we've got some peaches to pick!"

* * *

Thanks for reading! Thank you to Merciless Ruby, Assault Godzilla, argella1300, Advisor, and Snowy Peach Tsubasa for reviewing! Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

I do not own Bleach

**Dream Orchard**

_Chapter Three_

Momo and Toushiro immediately went to work. They had a well-developed system for picking fruit. Momo would climb up the tree and pick the fruit with great speed. She would then drop it down to Toushiro, who would catch it and put it in the baskets at their feet. They worked with such speed that from the distance it looked almost like a circus act, and they were so skilled that not a single piece of fruit was bruised or damaged.

Momo loved the feeling of being in the trees. It was much cooler than on the ground, and it was so much fun to climb through the branches. She had learned how to position her hands so that she could grab onto tree limbs at just the right places for her to quickly climb through virtually any tree. She almost never wore shoes, so she could use her bare feet to get a better footing in the trees. Overall, it was absolutely no exaggeration that Momo was like a monkey when she was in the trees. She darted through the branches picking fruit faster than a person could keep track of.

In no time at all, Momo and Toushiro had finished harvesting the peach tree they had been assigned. Most other workers had not even finished with individual sides of their trees, but Momo and Toushiro's teamwork allowed them to work many times faster than people working alone. Yamamoto was quite impressed.

"That was some excellent work," he said, "I've got one more thing for you to do and then I'll let you off of work early."

"Thank you sir," Toushiro said, "What do you want us to do?"

"There's a pile of scrap next to the tool shed. Just move it over to the building next to it and you'll be done," Yamamoto said. He took them to the tool shed, at the front of which was a large pile of scrap metal, old wires, and pieces of junk. They immediately began moving the junk across the dirt road to the other junk pile where it could be loaded onto trucks more easily. Yamamoto watched them for a while. Suddenly Momo stopped, picking up a shiny gold bottle cap.

"Ooooooh, can I keep this Mr. Yamamoto?" she asked, mesmerized by the shiny object. Toushiro was about to reprimand her for asking their boss for such trivial things, but Yamamoto spoke first.

"Take anything you like from there, I have no use for any of it," he said. Momo grinned and giggled, carefully placing her new treasure in her pocket. Toushiro gave her a stern look, reminding her that she was here to work, not look for little trinkets.

By the time they were done however, Momo had collected all sorts of little things, from old plastic cases to wires to pieces of metal to old tubing. Momo was very good about making sure she did the work, but it still irritated Toushiro that she bothered to collect so much junk. Of course in her eyes it was not junk but valuable treasure.

When they were done they returned to the sleeping quarters, Momo carrying an armload of junk with her. Toushiro rolled his eyes as Momo held her head up high, evidently proud of all the stuff she had found.

"I can't believe that there was so much good stuff in that junk pile! Why on earth would anybody want to throw that stuff away?" she said

"Gee, I wonder…" Toushiro muttered. Momo smiled and ruffled his hair, causing him to scowl.

"Silly little Shiro!" she giggled, "Even I wouldn't want to keep a piece of old plastic as a souvenir! These are for something special!"

"What?" Toushiro asked, unsure of what to think.

"No, no, no! I can't tell you or it won't be a surprise!" Momo said with a laugh.

"Fine, I'll wait. It better not be anything that will get us into trouble though," Toushiro grumbled. Momo laughed.

"You're so funny Shiro," she said. They soon reached the shack that served as their living quarters. Toushiro was about to go in, but Momo sat down in front of the shack. Toushiro paused.

"What are you doing?" he asked. Momo smiled up at him.

"I'm making my special surprise for you! Don't peek!" she said happily. Toushiro sighed.

"Fine then, I'll go walk around and get acquainted with this place. Don't go running off though, stay right here," he said. Momo nodded and began playing around with the junk she had. Toushiro walked off, wanting to inspect this place.

--

It had been just under an hour since Momo had begun, and already she was nearly finished. She hoped that Toushiro would like this gift. As she put the finishing touches on however, a dark shadow loomed over her. She looked up to see a man with brown hair and glasses staring down at her.

"And who might you be?" he asked. Momo shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm Momo," she murmured. She wasn't sure what exactly, but something about this guy made her uneasy.

"Well it's certainly nice to meet you Momo. It's rare that we get a lovely young lady like you to work here," he said.

"Um, thanks…" Momo said. The man began to bend over a little, and just as Momo was beginning to get worried, she heard Toushiro's voice.

"What's going on here?" Toushiro asked, looking suspiciously at the man.

"Ah, you must be young Momo's traveling companion. I am Aizen, I'm the boss's son."

"Well it's certainly…kind of you to welcome your newest workers, but I'm afraid that we have business to attend to, so I'm afraid you'll have to excuse us," Toushiro said. A sly smile crossed Aizen's face.

"Yes of course…I suppose I'll be seeing you around the orchard in the future. Goodbye," Aizen said before walking away. As the figure faded off into the distance, Toushiro breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to Momo, who was still sitting on the ground. He extended a hand to her and helped her back up.

"Are you okay?" Toushiro asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Momo said.

"In the future, try and avoid that guy. Something about him seems a bit off; be careful," Toushiro said. There was silence for a moment before Momo spoke.

"Oh! I almost forgot! I made you a present!" Momo said, leaning down to pick up the object she had been working on.

"What is it?" Toushiro asked. Momo grinned.

"It's a radio silly! Now we'll have something to do whenever we're bored!" Momo said. Toushiro looked skeptically at the device, which looked more like a tool box with various pieces of metal, plastic, and wire stuck to it than a working radio.

"What exactly do you do with it?" he asked, thinking it was just a toy radio she had made. Momo hit him playfully in the arm.

"You listen to it you big goofball!" she said laughing, "You see, you just have to press this button," she pressed the button and a bunch of static came out, "Then you tune it," Momo said, turning a little knob, resulting in some sort of music coming out, "And finally you just adjust this thing to isolate the radio signal!" she turned a dial back and forth, eventually finding a spot that had as little static as possible. Grinning in pride, she turned the radio off, looking to Toushiro for approval.

"Momo… That's amazing!" Toushiro said. A huge grin appeared on Momo's face and she gave him a hug.

"Thanks Shiro! I hoped you'd like it!" she said.

"But how on earth did you make it?" Toushiro said. He never knew that Momo had the knowledge to do this sort of thing.

"It was actually kinda easy. I found this old antenna attached to a little piece of an old radio so I built it around that. The electronic filter was already there, so I just needed to make a little knob to adjust it. I managed to amplify it with this old speaker thing and I was able to use some old tubing for a lot of the technical stuff like holding different series of wires," Momo said excitedly.

"Wow…that's amazing Momo," Toushiro said, "So we have four more hours until the other workers get here, what do you want to do until then?" Momo put a finger to her chin.

"Hmmmm, I think I'd like to take a nap," she said.

"Okay, go ahead then," Toushiro said. Momo seemed shocked by this.

"You're not going to nap with me?" Momo said.

"Nope, I'm not planning on it," Toushiro said.

"Why not?" Momo asked.

"Well first of all, I'm not tired. Second of all, the beds here are too small for two people. Thirdly, I don't want to give people the wrong impression about us," Toushiro said. Momo cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"But it will still feel nice even if you're not tired! The bed will be plenty big enough because you're so tiny we can both fit!" she said. Toushiro turned red at this. "How would us taking a nap together like we always do give people a wrong impression? Do you not want them to know that we're friends?" Toushiro hesitated, unsure of how to answer. Momo was so innocent that she didn't understand how society would view two people of opposite gender sleeping together. He didn't want to make Momo think that he did not want to be her friend anymore because he wouldn't take a nap with her; nor did he want to break her innocence by explaining why he didn't want others to see them sleeping together. At the same time, he certainly didn't want people thinking that Momo and Toushiro were doing _that_ in the worker's quarters. Eventually, he settled on a vague answer.

"I'm sorry Momo, but I just can't," he said apologetically.

Momo pouted for a moment before suddenly sweeping him off his feet. Taken by surprise, he struggled to get free, but it was useless resisting Momo as she was bigger than him. Toushiro told her to stop but she just happily smiled and hummed as she took him inside and put him under the covers of the bed. His face was red and he had his arms crossed when Momo got in behind him.

"You see?" she said, "The bed's plenty big enough! Good thing you're so little or we might not fit!" Toushiro growled.

"I'm not much smaller than you," he retorted, "And you'd better hope that no one sees this!"

"Aw, don't be such a little grumpy pants Shiro! Just think about the dream and things will feel all better!" Momo said happily, "There will be rows and rows of trees and dogs and cats and we'll be able to live off the land ourselves without relying on any mean old boss! Won't that be nice?"

"Yeah, I guess it will be," Toushiro muttered. Momo put her arms around Toushiro, hugging him like a stuffed animal.

"Toushiro?"

"What is it Momo?"

"How much longer do you think we'll be migrant workers? I want the dream to start soon!"

"Just be patient Momo. Soon we'll make enough money to buy our orchard and house and then we'll live off the land. We'll find our place in the world soon enough. Remember what we've always said? Most workers don't find their place in the world cause they're alone and forced to wander for work. We're different though, we have eachother. We'll have our place in the world soon enough, and when we do we'll be living on an orchard with all sorts of yummy fruits, a nice house that will never be too hot or cold, and of course some cuddly little kittens and big funny dogs."

Momo smiled and snuggled up against Toushiro, holding him tightly. She soon fell asleep with a smile on her lips. He smiled too. Despite saying earlier that he was not tired, talking about their dream and having Momo cuddled up against him was making him blissfully sleepy. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Thank you very much to AddictedtoBleach, Assault Godzilla, Merciless Ruby, and Snowy Peach Tsubasa for reviewing! The part with her making the radio is to show that despite her being child-like in many ways, she is still quite intelligent. Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Bleach

**Dream Orchard**

_Chapter Four_

"Wake up Shiro!" Momo said happily, shaking Toushiro. Toushiro groaned and sat up to find Momo above him, her face mere inches from his.

"What're you doing?" he asked groggily.

"Well, you were still taking a nap when I got up, so I decided to play cards with the guys for a while, but they then they said they want you to play too!"

"What guys?" Toushiro asked. He looked over to see a table set up in the middle of the room with several men sitting at it. He immediately sat up, startled by the presence of the men and annoyed that Momo had not woken him up earlier.

"Who are you?" he asked the men. He didn't like the fact that Momo had been interacting with strange men while he was sleeping. One of them, a man with curly brown hair stood up.

"I'm Carlson, that's Slim," he pointed to a lean man with a polite face, "That's Whitman," he pointed to a man with thinning hair, "And that's Walter," he pointed to a thickly built man with black hair. "Your woman told us all about you, it's nice to meet you Toushiro."

Toushiro glared at Carlson.

"She's not my woman, nor is she anybody else's," he said, giving them a look that clearly said 'don't try anything with her.' Carlson put his hands up defensively.

"Hey calm down. I just thought, y'know, with you two sleeping in the same bed…" he said. Toushiro was mentally slapping himself. He knew he shouldn't have allowed Momo to make him sleep with her, but noooooo, he had to be the nice guy and let her use him as a teddy bear. He frantically tried to think of an explanation but Momo spoke first.

"Shiro's my cuddle buddy! I can't sleep without him because he's so small and adorable and comforting!" she said. Toushiro turned tomato red as Carlson, Whitman, and Walter snickered at him. Slim smiled, but refrained from laughing, for which Toushiro was most grateful.

"What she means is, we've been friends since we were children and she gets nightmares if I'm not there. Isn't that right Momo?" he said.

"Well actually it's just comforting to cuddle him, I don't necessarily get nightma-" she stopped as he gave her a stern look. "I mean, yes! I get nightmares when he's not around!" she said quickly.

Just as the men were about to start laughing again, the door opened. An old man walked stiffly into the room. He had white hair that went down to his shoulders. His left hand was small and weak, curled up and apparently unusable. Carlson immediately got up.

"Ukitake, we need to talk," he said.

"What is it?" the old man called Ukitake said.

"It's about that dog of yours, he's thrown up in the tool shed again!" Carlson said.

"He can't help it. He's getting old," Ukitake said tiredly.

"Which is my point! The dogs not good for anything! When he was younger he could chase off coyotes and raccoons, but now it does nothing but sleep and stink up wherever it is," Carlson said.

"He's old," Ukitake repeated. Carlson sighed.

"Look, that dog is in no fit condition. It's stiff and it's gassy and it can't even keep its food down anymore," he said, "The dog is clearly not enjoying itself, so I'm thinking you should put him down."

"I've had that dog since he was a puppy," Ukitake said.

"Okay look," Carlson said, "Slim's dog is going to give birth in a few weeks. You can have one of her puppies. Is that okay Slim?" Slim seemed unsure about what would be the right thing to do in the situation, not wanting to let Ukitake get pressured into having his dog killed but also wanting to tell the truth. Eventually, he nodded slowly.

"You see? You'll be getting a new dog!" Carlson said.

"But I already have a dog," Ukitake said quietly.

"That dog is gonna drop dead soon anyways, but until then it will just be a pest. It would be doing it a kindness to put it down. I have a pistol in my cabin right next door that I can use to do the job right now. It can be quick and painless and the dog won't even realize it."

Ukitake looked helplessly at the others. Slim seemed to be sympathetic but didn't say anything. The others seemed to be silently urging him on to do it. Finally Ukitake sighed and slowly nodded his head.

"Don't worry, I'll make it nice and painless for him. As soon as Slim's dog gives birth you'll get a new puppy and you can put this all behind you," Carlson said. Ukitake stared blankly ahead as Carlson walked out.

Several minutes passed in silence. Then, a gunshot rang out and Uktake lowered his head. Slim put a hand on his shoulder in understanding. After several more minutes, Carlson walked back in.

"Slim, could you help me out? Curly and Aizen are eating the harvest!" he said angrily.

"Not again! Whenever that happens the boss blames us!" Whitman said.

"Slim is the only person that Curly shows any respect towards, if he can convince Curly to come clean then Aizen will too. Come on, we need your help Slim," Carlson said. Slim stood up and began to walk out.

"Whitman, Walter, come with us. If there's more of us there to confront them they'll be more likely to give in," Slim said. Whitman and Walter immediately got up to follow them, closing the door behind them and leaving Momo and Toushiro in the room with Ukitake.

"So who exactly is Curly?" Momo asked suddenly.

"He's the son of the boss along with his brother Aizen," Ukitake said.

"Oh, you mean that weird guy from earlier? I don't like him!" Momo said.

"Few do. Curly is small and mean, but Aizen is worse. With Curly, you know that he's mean and has an inferiority complex, but Aizen…Aizen is just an asshole, though he thinks really great. They get away with lots of stuff because they're Yamamoto's kids. Curly can usually be forced to be reasonable, but Aizen it trickier."

There was silence for a moment before Momo went over to the bed to sit down.

"Shiro, I'm tired! Let's go back to bed!" she said.

"I just got up, I'm not tired," Toushiro said

"But I am and I need my cuddle buddy!" she said. Toushiro rolled his eyes.

"It's not all about you y'know," he said.

"Aw, come on! At least tell me the story about our future!"

"You know that story just as well as I do, you can tell it to yourself," Toushiro said.

"But you do it better! It's more fun when you do it!" Momo protested. Sighing, Toushiro decided that he might as well tell her the story so she'd go to sleep and stop pestering him.

"Okay, most workers are alone, but we're different. We have eachother and we look out for one another. Someday we'll earn enough money to buy our own piece of land and we'll finally have found our place in the world. We won't have a boss, we'll be working for ourselves and living off the bounty of the land. We'll have groves of crisp apples and juicy peaches. We'll have a bunch of blueberries that we'll eat straight off the bush. We might even put in a few patches of watermelons, and we'll sit on the porch of our new house just eating them and being together."

"Tell me about the rabbits Toushiro," Momo said.

"I'm getting there. We'll live in a nice big house where it will never be too hot or too cold, always just right. When we come home from picking fruits, we'll be able to relax in that perfect temperature while we play fetch with some big funny dogs and while some kitties cuddle with us. Of course it wouldn't be complete without some nice soft rabbits that you'll get to tend and take care of."

Momo closed her eyes and smiled, snuggling up in the bed.

"It must be nice having a dream," Ukitake suddenly said. Toushiro and Momo had forgotten about him and were surprised to hear him speak.

"Having a place that you'll be at home. A safe place where you're in charge of yourself and you don't have to worry about your day-to-day survival. What a wonderful dream," he said.

"It's not just a dream, it's really going to happen!" Momo said, "It's going to work because we have eachother! We'll combine all of our pay together and someday we'll be able to buy our own land with peaches and blueberries and dogs and kitties and rabbits!" she said.

"You think you're going to succeed in this?" Ukitake asked. Momo nodded.

"Yup! We have eachother, so it's gonna happen for sure!" she said happily. They were all quiet for a minute.

"May I join you?" Ukitake said. Toushiro was taken aback by the question.

"What?" he said in surprise.

"Twenty years ago I got my hand caught in a machine here. Now it's all but useless. As compensation they let me work continuously here, but I won't be able to for much longer. All I'm good for is sweeping and mopping the floors with my good hand, and soon I won't even be able to do that. I'm getting old," he said sadly, "You saw what they did to my dog. As soon as he wasn't useful to them anymore they got rid of him. They'll do the same to me. They might not kill me, but they'll throw me off the farm, which is just as bad. It's a curse of the worker, not having a place to call home. I've been working here for years, but it's no home. I'll get thrown out the moment I stop being useful to them. I want a place in the world, a place where I belong."

"Not that we can't sympathize with you, but we can't just let you join our dream. It will be really difficult to raise the money as it is, we can't-"

"I can help you buy the place," Ukitake said.

"What?" Toushiro said.

"I can help you buy the place. I have money in the bank that I saved from my work here. If it's combined with your pay at the end of the month, it will be just enough to buy the land and the house you dream of. So what do you say? May I join you?" Ukitake asked. Toushiro thought for a moment before smiling.

"You're in," he said, shaking Ukitake's hand. Momo squealed in delight and grabbed Toushiro, pulling him into a huge hug under the covers of the bed.

"This is terrific Shiro!" she said in delight, "We can get our orchard and home now!"

"Momo-you're-choking-me!" Toushiro gasped under Momo's intense hug. She nuzzled her face against him as she crushed him in the hug. Despite the crushing hug, Toushiro smiled. The dream had never been closer.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Bleach

**Dream Orchard**

_Chapter Five_

The next few weeks passed quickly for Momo and Toushiro. They were extremely excited; thanks to Ukitake's joining them, they would realize their dream by the end of the month. They had never been happier, and Momo was constantly humming and singing little tunes. Even Toushiro, who typically did not show emotions, was seldom seen without a big grin on his face. Every night, Toushiro would describe their dream to her in more detail than ever before.

"And we'll put in a whole bunch of blueberries. When we're done working on the orchards, we'll crawl around the blueberry patch and you can gobble up all the blueberries you like. The birds will be eating them too, but that's okay because we'll have enough to share with them. When we've eaten our fill, we can lie down in the shade of the blueberries and listen to the birds."

"What kind of birds?" Momo asked.

"Well um, I guess swallows, and robins, and bluebirds, and sparrows, and-"

"Can we have an emu?" Momo asked suddenly.

"A what?" Toushiro asked.

"An emu! They're these ostrich-like birds from Australia! They look really funny and they're bigger than you!" Momo explained.

"I'm not sure that having a bunch of giant birds running around would be the most necessary thing for the orchard," Toushiro said, "Besides, they'll probably attack me."

"Well they wouldn't be able to attack you if you weren't so tiny," Momo said.

"I'm not tiny!" Toushiro protested. The men in the sleeping quarters voiced they're opinions on the issue. They had grown used to Toushiro telling Momo about the dream and typically did not comment on it, but in this case they couldn't resist confirming Toushiro's small stature.

"Yes you are."

"Definitely."

"Smallest man I've ever seen."

Momo giggled and Toushiro glared at the others, though they couldn't see him doing so in the dark.

"We're not getting any emu Momo, but if you stop making fun of my height I'll get you some giant rabbits," Toushiro said.

"They have giant rabbits?" Momo asked, "As in bigger than the ones we would have gotten normally?" Toushiro nodded.

"Yeah, they've got this new breed from Romania or something that grow to be thirty pounds!" Toushiro said. Momo's eyes widened like a child's upon hearing about a new toy.

"Wow, those are some big bunnies!" she exclaimed, "I'll bet they have lots of super soft fur to pet!"

"Yeah, they're super cuddly, and all you have to do to get them is stop commenting on my height," Toushiro said.

"But if you don't want me teasing you over being small, why do you want a bunch of bunnies as big as you are?" Momo asked innocently. Toushiro scowled and the other men burst into laughter.

"Okay Momo, I know I'm a bit smaller than average, but I am _not_ the size of a rabbit!" Toushiro growled, "I said these rabbits were thirty pounds, I'm bigger than that!"

"Whatever you say; can you tell me about the house now?" Momo said.

"Okay, the house will be a nice powder blue. It will be our place in the world; where we belong. It'll always be just the right temperature, not too hot, not too cold," Toushiro said. Momo smiled and nuzzled up against Toushiro, giving him a big hug.

"It's going to be so nice Shiro," she said. Toushiro stroked her hair, not even bothering to correct her use of his nickname.

"Yes it will," he said quietly. Soon they were both fast asleep.

--

The next day Momo hummed a random tune as she scurried around the peach trees, picking fruit and dropping it down to Toushiro. She loved to be in the trees like this. She loved the cool shade and she loved the feeling of her bare feet on the smooth bark of the branches. She loved the wonderful green leaves and the slightly sweet smell in the air that came from the numerous peaches. They had soon picked a huge quantity of fruit, dwarfing what any others had picked.

"Let's get started on the next tree Shiro!" Momo said.

"Okay, but we'll have to get another basket, the ones we have right now are all full," Toushiro said.

"Okay, I'll get them!" Momo said happily.

"That's okay Momo, I can go get them," Toushiro said.

"No, you're too little. It'll be faster if I get them," Momo said. Toushiro scowled at her jab at his height but didn't comment on it.

"The baskets are behind the shed over there," he said, pointing over to a building in the distance, "Do you know how to get over there?"

"Of course I do! I'll be back in a minute! Bye Shiro!" Momo said happily, running off towards the shed.

Upon arriving at the shed, Momo quickly found the baskets that she needed. She stacked up several of them, reasoning that she would be able to pick a whole bunch of peaches. She was about to walk off towards the grove of peaches when a pair of arms grabbed her from behind.

Momo let out a small cry of surprise, and an arm came around her waist, holding her where she was.

"It's good to see you again Momo," the voice said. Momo recognized it as Aizen.

"I-I need to take these baskets to the peach groves for work," Momo mumbled, hoping that he would let go of her. She struggled a little but he didn't let go.

"Oh don't worry, I have something much more fun in store for you than just picking fruit," he whispered into her ear. He began to run his hand over her stomach and waist. Momo didn't understand what was happening, but she didn't like it. She asked him to let her go, but he just laughed and kept touching her. She dropped the baskets as she struggled to get away.

Momo was scared. She didn't know what to do and began to cry as he began stroking her breasts. She didn't like this; she wanted him to stop. She was confused and wanted to get away, but he held her firmly in place. She was too afraid to fight back, and her voice seemed stuck in her throat so she couldn't cry for help. She closed her eyes tightly, confused and scared of what was happening.

Aizen had his hand on the buttons of Momo's shirt when he suddenly gave a grunt and staggered back. Momo opened her eyes to see Toushiro on Aizen's back, his arms wrapped around his neck.

"Keep your dirty hands off of Momo!" He yelled. Momo was frozen in place as she watched Toushiro fighting Aizen. Aizen attempted to shake Toushiro off, and Toushiro struggled to hold on, punching Aizen in the back as he did so. Aizen soon was able to get a hold of Toushiro however, and threw him to the ground. Momo's eyes widened in horror as Toushiro laid on the ground knocked out.

"Sorry about the interruption," Aizen said, walking forward and pushing Momo up against the wall, "It's just us now, so let's get finished." Aizen didn't notice several workers approaching who had head the commotion. They were off in the distance, but they understood what was going on and ran towards them as fast as they could.

"Don't be scared, I'll give you a time you'll never forget," Aizen said, "Way better than anything that little cotton top midget ever did to you." Momo's eyes suddenly hardened in anger at the insult to Toushiro. She gave a shriek and leapt at Aizen, pinning him to the ground. She began punching him in the face. She wasn't completely aware of what she was doing, and she did not know what to do other than continuing to punch Aizen.

The other men soon arrived, and they did nothing to stop her; they saw what Aizen had tried to do, and they felt he deserved it. Aizen's face was soon covered in blood as Momo kept punching him, her eyes wide and a look as if she did not know how to stop.

Meanwhile, Toushiro regained consciousness and was quick in trying to break up the fight. Toushiro gave a groan and stumbled over to where they were, determined to stop this before Momo got in trouble.

"Stop Momo," he said, beginning to regain his composure, "I'm fine, you'll only get yourself into trouble if you keep this up!" Momo didn't stop or even acknowledge him. Toushiro grabbed her arms attempting to stop her.

"Momo! He's down, you don't need to continue! It's over now!" he yelled at her, hoping to get through to her. Finally, he was able to pull her off of Aizen and she stopped punching. He held her in front of him and saw that she had begun crying. He hugged her, comforting her from her ordeal. Meanwhile, the other workers pulled Aizen up into a sitting position. One of them dumped a pail of water onto his face, washing the blood away and causing him to cough on the water.

Whitman grabbed Aizen by the shirt and pulled him forward. Carlson grabbed onto him to ensure that he wouldn't try to get away.

"I hope you realize that this was your own fault and that you deserved this and more," Whitman said.

"Whatever," Aizen panted, "The sheriff will believe my word over a half-crazy migrant worker any day. They'll put her away at an insane asylum and give her electro-shock and keep her in a cage for the rest of her life. I just need to tell them my side of events and they'll put her away on the spot."

"In that case you won't be telling them anything," Slim said, "You will pretend that this never happened, and you'll tell everyone that you got those facial injuries by falling face-first onto a pile of rocks."

"And why should I do that?" Aizen said defiantly. One of the workers watching put a scythe he had been using to clear brush in front of Aizen threateningly.

"Because if you do we'll make sure it's the end of you," Carlson said, "And the same applies if you try doing that again." Aizen growled, but nodded his head, indicating he understood.

As the others dragged Aizen away to wait until he could walk on his own again, Slim helped Toushiro to his feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he leant down to put a band-aid on a small cut Momo received.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Toushiro said quietly, in shock over what had nearly happened to Momo. He couldn't believe it; he was supposed to be protecting her, yet he let something like this happen. Momo sobbed on the ground, too upset to move on her own. Bending down, he shakily picked up Momo. Due to the difference in their sizes, it was somewhat difficult, but he managed to do it.

"You two should take the rest of the afternoon off, you've harvested your share anyway. I'll cover for you," Slim said.

"Thanks," Toushiro said gratefully. He began walking towards the sleeping quarters, carrying the crying Momo with him. It was hurt him horribly to hear Momo cry, and he hoped that she would be okay. They reached the cabin and Toushiro went inside with Momo, sitting down on their bed.

He held Momo in his lap and hugged her. She hugged him back and buried her face in his shoulder as she cried. Toushiro held her close to him, stroking her hair soothingly. He let her cry for several minutes before speaking.

"Momo," he said softly, "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Momo looked up, her eyes teary.

"N-no, but he was making me scared," Momo sobbed, "He was touching me and grabbing at me even when I asked him do stop. I don't understand Shiro! Why was he doing that?" Momo cried into his shoulder, and Toushiro felt a surge of hatred for Aizen. How dare that horrible man touch a pure an innocent girl like Momo in that way! How dare he frighten her and cause her fear! How dare he make her cry!

"I don't know Momo," Toushiro said, "I'm so sorry, I should have gone with you." Momo looked at Toushiro, blinking away tears.

"I don't blame you Toushiro, thanks for helping me," she said. Toushiro noticed that she did not use his nickname, and that worried him. He wanted to make her to be happy again.

"Momo, would you like to take a nap and hear our story," he asked. Momo stopped crying and smiled, nodding her head. They got under the covers and Momo grabbed onto Toushiro, holding onto him tightly.

"Tell me about all the yummy fruit we'll eat," she requested.

"Okay, we'll have a bunch of plump blueberries that we'll eat straight off the bush, some peaches that we'll harvest and then eat inside, and some apples that we'll bake into pies later." Toushiro felt Momo relaxing as she smiled at the thought of their dream.

"Tell me about the rabbits now!" Momo giggled.

"We'll have all sorts of nice animals," Toushiro continued, "We'll have a big funny dog that we'll play fetch with, a couple of cats that'll nuzzle up against you when you get home, and of course some big fluffy bunnies. Some will be brown, others black, some white, and some all three! Some will have ears that stick up and others will have floppy ears. But the thing they'll all have in common is that they'll all be soft and cuddly and you get to take care of them."

Momo hugged Toushiro close to her, a big smile on her face.

"Thanks Shiro," She said. Toushiro, despite his years of protest over its use, was pleased to hear is nickname again. As he thought this, he didn't see her leaning forward, and it took him by surprise when she gave him a tiny peck on the cheek.

Toushiro blinked in surprise and he turned bright red. Momo giggled and soon fell asleep, holding onto him tightly. Toushiro smiled and soon he too went to sleep, glad that his friend was back to her old happy self.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Thank you to iceypeach, sma4ever, Merciless Ruby, and Assault Godzilla! Please review everyone; reviews make me happy and more motivated to write!


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Bleach

**Dream Orchard**

_Chapter 6_

Momo and Toushiro worked the next several days happier than they had ever been before. Even after what Aizen tried to do to her, Momo was in extremely high spirits. This was because it was only one day before they would receive the pay they needed to purchase their dream orchard. The dream was literally within their grasp.

"Hey Shiro, can you help me carry some stuff I found? There's a bunch of cool stuff behind the shed over there!" Momo said.

"Do I have to?" Toushiro asked.

"Yup! It's really cool!" Momo said excitedly, dragging Toushiro over to the shed.

As it turned out, the 'cool stuff' was an old ice-smasher and a rusty set of horseshoes. The horseshoes were so rusty that it would be nearly impossible to use them, and the ice-smasher was completely useless, as there was no ice. It was basically just a medium-length pole with a heavy metal ball on the end. It was used in the past to break up blocks of ice imported from the north, but now that there was refrigeration, it was useless.

"Momo, what on earth are you going to do with those things?" Toushiro asked in exasperation. Momo giggled.

"I don't know, they just seem nice!" Momo said, "This stick thing is fun to play with, see?" Momo began hitting the ground with the ice-smasher, creating little impressions in the dirt.

"Okay, whatever. Just give me the horseshoes and I'll take them to the shack," Toushiro said.

"No way! Something this special needs to be shared! I'm going to show the guys!" Momo said, picking up the horseshoes.

"Momo, they're not going to want to- Hey Momo! Get back here!" Toushiro yelled as Momo ran away. Toushiro began to follow her, but he could not run so fast. "Why did you have me come over here if you can carry them so easily yourself?" He called out after her. Grumbling he went off in her direction.

Momo was much faster than he was, so it was twenty minutes before he caught up with her. Just as she came into his sight though, a horseshoe came flying at his head. Toushiro groaned and fell to the ground.

"Oh my god! Shiro!" Momo screamed, running up to him. She slapped his face, trying to wake him up. "Shiro, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you; it was an accident! I'm sorry!" Momo cried and shook Toushiro, trying to wake him up. Slim put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, he's just knocked out," he said, "He'll be back up in less than an hour." Momo's tears instantly cleared up.

"Really? That's great!" Momo said. She stood up, facing the other men that she had been playing horseshoes with. "You guys watch over Toushiro, I'm going to go for a walk."

"Okay, but be careful," Slim said. Momo smiled and ran off. While she felt guilty for accidentally knocking Toushiro out, she was excited too. She had never been allowed to freely explore the orchard before, Toushiro hadn't allowed it. She knew that he only had her safety in mind, but it was annoying, as Momo loved to explore new places.

Momo wondered where she would go first. She decided to go off to a field nearby to look for rabbits. Momo liked rabbits; they were always so cute and cuddly. She ran off towards the field, dragging the ice-smasher behind her. The field had grass that went up to her chest and it no doubt harbored many small creatures.

As Momo walked through the field, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her foot. She cried out and hopped on one foot. She examined her foot, on which she wore no shoes, and found a small needle-like spine. She looked around and found the culprit, a small weed that had needles sticking out from it.

"Meanie! Take this!" Momo said. She hit it with the ice-smasher, pounding it into the ground. She stuck out her tongue and was about to walk away when she saw movement. Scanning the ground, she saw a small ground squirrel. The striped chipmunk-like rodent looked at her for a moment before running off, Momo followed it, wanting to watch it some more.

"Come on little guy! Wait up!" she said. She followed it to its burrow. She looked down the burrow and didn't see the ground squirrel. She took the unweighted end of the ice-smasher and began prodding the burrow, hoping to coax the ground squirrel to come out. As she did so however, the entrance to the burrow collapsed, and Momo cried out.

"Oh no! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to destroy your house little guy!" Momo said, nearly crying. She suddenly heard a small chattering sound and looked up to see the same ground squirrel standing above another hole. "Oh, so you have two entrances to your burrow!" Momo said, relieved she had not destroyed the animal's home, "I'm sorry about that, I'll leave you alone now."

Momo walked for a little more before stopping again. In front of her was a rabbit with soft brown fur. Momo smiled and began walking towards it, but it ran off. Momo chased after it, not wanting to miss the chance to see a rabbit. The rabbit ran out of the field onto the main orchard, with Momo chasing after it. It ran into an old wooden barn, with Momo doing likewise.

"Mr. Bunny!" she called, "Come out, I'm not going to hurt you!" Suddenly the barn door closed and someone pinned her arms behind her back and forced her to the ground. She tried to cry out, but they stuffed a wad of cloth in her mouth. She felt someone leaning down on her back.

"I've been hoping to see you soon dear Momo," a voice whispered in her ear. Momo's eyes widened. It was Aizen, but why was he here? He was supposed to have gone off somewhere, and even if he didn't, he was told not to come near her. Her muffled voice cried for help as Aizen laid down against her, pinning her to the ground.

"You know, I bet you thought that last time convinced me to give up, but I don't work that way," Aizen whispered to her, "That little incident only made me more determined to get what I want, and it's about to finally happen."

Tears streaked Momo's cheeks as Aizen began touching her as he did last time. She tried to struggle, but found her strength driven away by fear. She could only cry as Aizen touched her and rubbed himself up against her.

"Isn't this nice Momo?" Aizen asked. Momo gave a frightened whimper. "What's that?" Aizen said, "You want to take this faster? Well, I never was one to deny such a request, so lets get this started up for real." Momo felt her pants being slid down. Aizen stroked her legs for a moment before removing her undergarments as well. Momo was frightened as Aizen began touching her more and more.

Momo had never been so scared in her life. Not when she was attacked by a coyote when she was eight, not when she nearly drowned in a river when she was ten, not even when she got sick with severe influenza and nearly died. This was more frightening to Momo than anything else. She wanted to get out, to run away, but she couldn't muster up the strength or the courage to fight back against Aizen.

As Aizen began pulling her legs apart, she remembered something that Toushiro had once said to her. _You are a wonderful person Momo, don't let anyone hurt you; if not for your sake, for mine._ _I can't stand seeing you get hurt. _The memory was not much, but it was enough to give Momo the resolve she needed. She kicked against Aizen, sending him staggering backwards. She stood up, ripping the cloth out of her mouth. Aizen glared at her.

"So that's how it's going to be. Fine, if I can't have you, nobody will," he said menacingly. He pulled out a knife and advanced on her. Momo backed away, looking around frantically for something she could defend herself with. She ran to the barn door and found it jammed shut. Aizen was advancing on her, knife raised. Tears were again coming down Momo's face.

_I'm sorry Shiro,_ she thought to herself,_ I should have listened to you and not wandered off. I'm so sorry!_ Aizen grabbed Momo and forced her up against the barn wall.

"Any last words?" he whispered to her, pressing the knive to her throat. Tiny droplets of blood arose as the knive began to cut through the skin. Suddenly, Momo saw something.

Momo kneed Aizen in the groin, causing him to let go for just a moment, which was all the time Momo needed to tear herself away from him and grab the ice-smasher off the ground. Before Aizen could even raise the knife again, Momo had swung the heavy object as hard as she could. It impacted with Aizen's head with a wet crunch and he fell to the floor.

Momo breathed heavily, feeling relief. She put her clothes back on and began to collect her thoughts. She glanced over at Aizen, who was now lying in a pool of blood. She froze, realizing the implications of what she had done. She had killed Aizen, she would be locked up and sent away. They would hurt her and treat her like an animal.

Toushiro had always tried to protect her from knowledge of such things, but over the years Momo had learned from others what happened to people like her who committed such acts. There would be no trial; she would be convicted on the spot. She would be declared insane locked up in chains like a dangerous animal.

Momo was overcome with fear. She didn't know what to do. She seemed doomed to a horrible fate, and she didn't know how to escape it. She was confused and scared. What was going to happen? Would they kill her on the spot? Would they use her as a test subject for new drugs? Was she going to be committed to an insane asylum to be locked up and given painful electroshock for the rest of her life? Would she ever see Toushiro again?

Momo was so scared she was beginning to shake. She had no place to go and nobody to go to. She wouldn't be able to see Toushiro again, or he could get in trouble too. She was alone now, friendless and purposeless and with a horrible fate no matter what she did.

Momo crawled out through a window and ran.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Remember that this story is based on Of Mice and Men, which takes place in the 1930's. Thus, imagine things in here like they were back then.

* * *

Dream Orchard

_Chapter Seven_

Toushiro stood completely stunned, unable to comprehend what he was hearing. Aizen was found dead in the barn a short while earlier, and the blame had fallen on Momo. Aizen's brother Curley was quick in organizing a lynch mob to go after her. Curley addressed the people he had organized while brandishing a shotgun.

"She's insane; a menace to society!" Curley yelled to the workers and townsfolk present, "Because we allowed that dangerous mad woman to be here, my dear brother was murdered! She took the murder weapon beforehand and went directly to the place where he was working! It was clearly premeditated, an act which requires her death!"

"No, we should attempt to capture her alive," a dark haired man said. Toushiro recognized him as the sheriff of the town. "Smash her arms and legs if you have to, but we should capture her and send her to an asylum."

"She's dangerous; she needs to be killed on the spot!" Curley said.

"Capturing her alive will allow for us to take her away and bring true justice, not just vigilantism," the sheriff said.

"Fine, but we'll need to use deadly force if necessary. You," Curley pointed to Carlson, "Go get your pistol, we'll need all the firearms we can get for when we hunt her down. Do it now unless you're trying to protect your fellow worker, in which case you should be taken out too!" Carlson reluctantly went to his shack to retrieve his pistol. Toushiro knew what was going on. Curley was intimidating the few workers who knew what Aizen was really like into not speaking out for fear of being accused themselves. Curley had been the one to discover Aizen's body, and he no doubt removed any incriminating evidence. Thus, most people didn't know of the things Aizen had attempted to do to Momo before and had likely attempted again. Toushiro walked forward, deciding that at least he would stand up for Momo.

"Perhaps this is a misunderstanding," Toushiro said, "Momo may have acted in self-defense."

"What's to misunderstand? She took the murder weapon in advance and seeked out my brother. She had a weapon, went to him, and then fled the scene of the crime. How can you claim it was self-defense? Unless of course you're accusing my dear brother, a respected member of the community, of heinous acts."

Toushiro opened his mouth to say that he was indeed accusing Aizen of that, that Momo had run away because she was scared, and that Aizen was hardly respected, but Slim held him back.

"Don't," Slim whispered, "He'll make it seem like you were in on it." Just then Carlson ran back.

"It's gone," he said, "My pistol is gone."

"There, you see boy? The girl stole his pistol, she clearly has malicious intentions!" Curley said.

"Perhaps he misplaced it," Toushiro said blankly, his mind in complete shambles.

"It was in my bag just this morning, but it's not there now…maybe Curley is right, maybe she _did_ plan this out," Carlson said, seemingly shocked at his own words. Toushiro knew that Carlson, like the rest of them, didn't know what to think. He was among the handful of workers who saw what Aizen had tried to do before, but they had all been intimidated into silence, and now they themselves were beginning to think Momo guilty, that perhaps she had done it out of revenge. Toushiro knew better of course.

"Momo wouldn't have stolen it, she doesn't know how to use a pistol," Toushiro said, "Besides, she doesn't like guns; the noise they make scares her."

"We don't know for sure," the sheriff said, "She may have taken it so as to threaten people, even if she doesn't intend to actually use it. It is also possible that the pistol was misplaced. Either way, the sooner we find her, the sooner we capture her, the better. Smash her limbs if you have to, but try to take her alive."

The sheriff, Curley, a few locals, and the workers split off into groups to search for Momo. They were armed with pitchforks, metal pipes, clubs, rope, and a few guns. They were all determined to find Momo, some to kill her, some to capture her and put her in an asylum. Even the workers who had known her were going after her.

Toushiro felt overwhelmed by all of this. How could something this horrible happen? They were mere days from reaching their dream. They were so close. Everything felt unreal to Toushiro, he didn't know what to think. Amidst the chaos of his mind, he vaguely registered that someone shaking his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Slim asked. Toushiro snapped out of his thoughts.

"I don't even know…" he murmured.

"I'm going to go with Curley. Maybe I can convince him to leave her alive. It may be possible to get her a fair trial," Slim said. Toushiro shook his head.

"There won't be a trial. She'll be declared insane on the spot and shipped off to an insane asylum. Even if there were to be a trial, it would hardly be fair. We workers don't get fair trials, and she especially wouldn't. It would be the same end result," Toushiro said, anguish present in every word. Slim put a hand on his shoulder before walking off.

Toushiro lowered his head and clenched his fists. He had failed to protect Momo. When she needed him most, he had failed her. Now there were mobs going after her, and she would either end up being beaten and lynched or sent to an insane asylum to live in a cage and be tortured with electroshock for the rest of her life.

He knew he had to save Momo from those fates. He wouldn't allow her to be harmed further. He began running. He needed to get to Momo before the others did. He had to save her. He had failed to protect her before, but he wouldn't do so again. He ran as fast as he could, ignoring everything but his desire to protect Momo. Suddenly however, someone walked out in front of him. It was Ukitake.

"Toushiro…I heard everything," the old man said, "What will we do now?"

"I'm going to save Momo. After that, I'm not sure," Toushiro said.

"I'll bet that Curley was the one who stole Carlson's pistol, just to give himself one more excuse to hurt her. He already doctored up all the evidence in the barn," Ukitake said.

"I need to go," Toushiro said, beginning to run off. Ukitake called out to him before he could go though.

"Will we still be able to have the orchard like in the dream?" he asked. Toushiro turned his head to face him.

"Momo won't be able to show her face around here or any other civilized place again. She won't be able to help us get the dream nor participate in it. It's not the dream without her."

"So…the dreams never going to happen?" Ukitake asked glumly. Toushiro paused for a moment turning back to the direction he had been running.

"No," he finally said, "I guess not."

* * *

Thanks for reading. Thank you to Merciless Ruby, Assault Godzilla, and Snowy Peach Tsubasa for reviewing. Next chapter is the last one of the story. Please Review.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: This is the last chapter of the story. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! After you're done, I strongly recommend that you read Of Mice and Men, which this story is based on. It's considered a classic piece of literature. Please review when you're done! Thanks!

**Dream Orchard**

_Chapter Eight_

_"Momo, if something happens, I want you to go to that place where you were swimming earlier and hide. Hide in the reeds and stay there until I can come help you."_

Momo had done just as Toushiro said, hiding in a tiny clearing in the reeds by the stream. The reeds were able to hide her from view, making her safe for the time being, though she knew it was only a matter of time before she was found. She hoped Toushiro would come soon; that is, _if_ Toushiro would come for her at all.

Momo knew she had messed up, and that she had created a lot of trouble for Toushiro. She had promised him beforehand that she would be good and not get into trouble, but she did. Would Toushiro come to help her? Or would he just leave her? She wouldn't blame him if he did leave her; she was always a burden on him, getting into trouble and making him look after her. He would be better off without her. If he came to help her, he could get in trouble too. Momo didn't want that; it would be better for him to just abandon her.

Momo was afraid. She didn't know what to do. Everything seemed so out of control. What was going to happen to her? Would she be killed? Or would she merely be locked up like an animal for the rest of her life? A tear slid down her cheek. She wished Toushiro were here, he always made things seem less confusing for her. He was such a wonderful friend. He was always there to keep her safe; to look out for her when she was in trouble; to comfort her when she was sad; to laugh with her when she was happy; to help her when she was hurt. She wanted nothing more than to be with her friend just one more time. Just once more, if only for her to have the chance to tell him how much he meant to her.

Momo lowered her head and sobbed. "Toushiro…"

"I'm here Momo."

Momo turned around, her eyes glistening with tears, to see Toushiro standing behind her in the cattails and reeds. She leapt up and hugged him.

"Toushiro…you came back for me…" she said.

"Of course I did, I could never abandon you Momo," Toushiro said quietly.

"Shiro," Momo sobbed, "I did a bad thing. I'm in trouble."

"I know Momo," Toushiro said quietly, gently stroking Momo's hair. Momo looked up at him from the hug.

"Are…are you mad at me?" she asked.

"No, I'm not mad at you. I know it wasn't your fault," Toushiro said. Momo's eyes teared up and she sobbed into Toushiro's shoulder.

"Oh Shiro, I mess everything up. Your life would be so much easier without me. I don't deserve someone as wonderful as you. You're always looking out for me and taking care of me, and I only get you in trouble! I don't deserve you!" Momo sobbed. Toushiro held Momo close to him.

"I stay with you because I want to. Don't you remember? That's what makes us special. We're together, and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world," Toushiro said. Momo looked up at him and smiled. Suddenly, they heard men shouting in the distance.

"They're going to find us," Momo said. Toushiro knelt down, and gestured for Momo to do the same. He knew that she was right, but he wouldn't allow Momo to be subjected to misery.

"Momo, look out at the river; imagine our dream. Look across there, like you can practically see it," Toushiro said.

Momo looked confused, but did as he said, looking straight across the river while envisioning their dream.

"Can you see it?" Toushiro said from behind her. She began to turn so as to face him, but Toushiro nudged her back. "Don't look around, just look out there and envision the dream. Can you do that?"

"Yes," Momo said happily, "It's like it's right there!" They were quiet for a minute. "Shiro, can you tell me our story?" Toushiro was silent for a moment as he listened to the voices of the men in the distance getting louder. He then spoke.

"It's said that we migrant workers are alone in this world, with no one to look out for us and nobody who cares for us. But you and I, we're different. We have eachother," Toushiro said.

"Go on," Momo urged, "Tell the rest of the story!"

"Some day, we'll make enough money to buy our own piece of land that we can call home," Toushiro said, "It will be our place in the world. We'll be able to provide for ourselves. We'll have our own orchard full of peaches and apples. There won't be any quotas or a boss to tell us how much or how fast to pick fruit, we'll pick the fruit for as long as we feel like. We decide when we stop for the day. When we're done, we'll go off into the blueberry patch and eat berries straight of the bush while we lie down in the shade and listen to the birds."

The voices of men came closer, and they could now hear them walking through the reeds in the distance. Momo started to turn around, but Toushiro gently turned her head so she was still looking out at the stream. He quietly reached a hand into his pocket as he stared at the back of Momo's head.

"When we get home, we'll get greeted by a big funny dog and some cats that will nuzzle up against us," Toushiro said. He slowly withdrew his hand from his pocket, pulling Carlson's pistol out as he did so.

"Tell me about the rabbits next Shiro!" Momo said, joy evident in her voice. The sound of men running through brush was getting closer.

"I'm getting there," Toushiro said, his voice shaking. "Our home will be our place in the world. It will never be too hot or too cold. It will be our place of safety. When we get home each night, we'll have dinner together and then maybe make a pie with the apples we pick. And of course, you'll get to tend the rabbits. They'll be soft and fluffy and you'll get to pet them as much as you like." Momo giggled as she imagined it.

The shouting voices got louder, and they could be heard crashing through the brush and reeds. Toushiro looked at Momo, tears in his eyes as she giggled to herself. Toushiro raised the pistol to the back of Momo's head. His hand shook violently, but he managed to steady it for just a moment. He pulled the trigger.

The shot echoed throughout the valley. Momo slumped forward. Toushiro shivered and looked down at the gun in his hand. He threw it as hard as he could. It landed on the bank by the river a short distance away.

The brush seemed to suddenly be filled with cries as footsteps crashed through the reeds. Several men burst into the clearing. Curley was at the front, and his eyes widened as he saw Momo's body.

"He got her," he muttered, "Right in the back of the head."

"How'd you do it?" Carlson asked.

"I…I just did…" Toushiro said blankly.

"Did she have my pistol?" Carlson said. Toushiro was quiet for a moment.

"Yes…she had your pistol…"

"And you got it away from her and you took it and you killed her?"

"Yes…that's how it happened…" Toushiro said in almost a whisper.

"Well I guess that settles the matter then," Curley said, "I'll take anyone who wants to out for a drink." Most of the men followed Curley and walked away. Slim walked up behind Toushiro and put a hand on his shoulder before he too walked off. No words needed to be said.

Toushiro lifted Momo into his lap and cradled her in his arms. He wept over her.

It was said that migrant workers were alone in the world, and he was no exception.

_The End_


End file.
